2011 AWS Start-Up Challenge Starts Now

F.Y. Teng |
Aug. 1, 2011

Fifteen regional prizes and a single global grand prize are on offer in the fifth edition of this global competition for innovative cloud-based businesses.

As at 3 p.m. Monday, August 1, 2011 (Singapore time), Amazon Web Services (AWS), the global Amazon.com company offering a host of cloud computing resources and platforms, is open for entries to the fifth edition of its annual competition designed to recognise the work of innovative start-ups among its customers. The AWS Start-Up Challenge is open to all startups built on AWS’s cloud computing platform and which hail from anywhere across the globe.

According to the company’s representatives, judges of the competition intend to choose 15 regional semi-finalists–five each from the Americas, Asia Pacific (including Japan), and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The semi-finalists will receive US$2,500 in AWS credits, and go through another round of evaluation during which at least six global finalists will be chosen and awarded a package of US$10,000 in AWS credits and an opportunity to compete in the final round of the startup challenge.

The winner of the single global prize will get a package that includes US$50,000 in cash, US$50,000 in AWS credits, four one-hour mentoring sessions from AWS technical experts, and AWS Premium Support Gold for one year.

According to an AWS press release issued Monday, the judgement of startups in the competition will be based on the following criteria: how well they handle “the implementation and integration of Amazon Web Services paid services”; “the originality and creativity” of their businesses; the likelihood of their “long-term success and scalability” of their business on the cloud; and, their “effectiveness in addressing a need in the marketplace.”

The AWS Start-Up Challenge was launched in 2007, and in its fourth year, it received more than 1,500 entries from 22 countries (the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe). This year, AWS representatives, expect an even larger number of entries, of course. “Within the AWS community, we’re seeing hotbeds of innovation emerge throughout the world,” AWS Vice President Adam Selipsky said.

The deadline for entries is midnight October 2, 2011 (US Pacific Time). Semi-finalists and finalists will be announced in November. The final round will be held also in November.